Pain - Domestic Abuse Quilt Series #14

Pain - 16” X 16”

Domestic abuse is about controlling someone’s mind and emotions as much as hurting their body. Mental and emotional pain can make it more difficult for a person to use coping skills in abusive situations, and can even weaken their immune system.

There is no cure or treatment for the pain of domestic abuse and the effects can last a lifetime, even if someone is able to leave an abusive situation.

Pain is felt by the primary victim of abuse as well as their friends and family, as the abuser seeks to hurt and isolate the primary victim.

Ten million Americans experience domestic abuse every year.  Ten million.  Someone I love and care about is a victim of abuse and has been for over twenty years.  Odds are you or someone you know is a victim as well. I have learned a lot about domestic abuse over the last two decades and the number one fact I have learned is that most incidents are never reported.  Ten million people every year and that number doesn't reflect the full scope of abuse in the US, as many people aren't able to safely share and report their stories.  I am a doer.  I like to make and fix things.  Sadly, I cannot fix things for the person in my life who is being abused.  But, I can speak up.  And I can sew.  And hopefully I can make a difference. (Statistics from the CDC)

Domestic violence knows knows no boundaries when it comes to race/gender/sexuality/age/socioeconomic status/geographic location/culture.

Remember, it affects ten million in the US every year.  If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, please know that the folks at the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1 800 799 SAFE or thehotline.org) are ready to listen and support you, as well as refer you to a local program or organization. If you observe someone being abused, you can also call the hotline.  A good samaritan call can save a life.

See all of the Domestic Abuse Quilts here.

Wordless Wednesday - the tiny crown of thorns edition

Summer Garden

I love this time of year when I can wander out to the garden and gather some fresh food to add to my dinner.

I love radishes. After an initial thinning I’ve been gathering some of the larger ones each day to eat. They were planted in the carrot, beet and cilantro rows.

The raspberries are a little slow this year but they are coming along.

Home Alone

I dropped my daughter off at music camp in the middle of last week and have been making good use of my time in the studio. I taught a one day workshop and then dove in to work on these Spring Fever blocks.

My husband is also out of town for work so I have been able to have a lot of uninterrupted sewing time.

I love watching them grow on the design wall.

I think it’s starting to look like a crochet granny square blanket.

I am ALMOST ready to sew the blocks together but will let this project rest for a while. I plan to take the coming week as a “build your own artist residency" in my studio. I will work on some smaller projects and explore some piecing ideas until I pick up my daughter from camp next weekend. I also have a stack of books to dive into.

Prepping for the Next Step

I finished all of the centers for the blocks I need for my Spring Fever quilt. Next I’ll be making the borders to go around them. I’ve paired up the border colors in preparation. I don’t want to start sewing them on and end up with color combinations I don’t like for the last few blocks. Also, I’m all ready to go the next time I’m in the studio.

Design Wall Update

I’ve been working on both of these quilts and they have grown too big for this huge design wall.

There has been a break up.

They now have a little more space to grow on their own section of wall.

Peony Time at the Arb

My favorite week in Ann Arbor is the week the peonies are in bloom at the botanical gardens. Today was a sunny day and they did not disappoint.

Purple Wind Farm

My sister and I worked together to make this quilt for our niece’s high school graduation. We each made half of the string blocks. In this picture mine are on the left and hers are on the right. I’m sure she and I could each pick ours out because we recognize our own fabric scraps. However, when they are mixed together in the quilt, it all looks as if it came from one pool of fabric. When making the pinwheel blocks I used two blocks that I made and two blocks that my sister made to get the fabrics distributed across the quilt.

The pattern is Wind Farm, from my book, Every Last Piece. I used the templates from the book, one to trim the string blocks and the other to cut the triangle pieces that create the pinwheels.

My niece’s favorite color is purple so I used a selections of purples from my stash to create the pinwheels.

The quilt includes fabrics from things we made for her, her siblings, and her cousins when they were small.

Congratulations on your graduation, Frances. We know you are headed to do great things!

My sister made this beautiful label for the quilt. I should get her to label all of my quilts.

A Progress Report

Last week I worked on a variety of quilt projects. I made more of these little 4.5” stars bringing my total to 49.

I added some color to a few postage stamp centers for more Spring Fever blocks.

and made more postage stamp center sections.

My design wall is filling up and it is bringing me much joy. I have some parts precut and ready for my next sewing day. I like leaving things so that I know right where I left off and can start off sewing first thing.

My Studio - the wider view

I thought I’d share some wide angle shots of my studio so you can see those windows. I LOVE all the natural light I get. It makes choosing colors so much easier.

I have room for five sewers, or six if we are working on small pieces. If you are interested in booking a workshop for a small group, let me know.

I do one day or multiday workshops.